[Cover photo: PLANETARY CONFIGURATIONS,
FEBRUARY 4-5, 1962. Heliocentric perspective drawing in which the actual
relative distance of the Planets from the Sun, as well as their sizes,
have been disregarded. As viewed from above, the Planets move around
the Sun counter-clockwise.]

*

THEOSOPHIA
A Living Philosophy for Humanity

Published every Three Months. Sponsored
by an International Group of Theosophists.
Objectives: To uphold and promote the Original Principles of the modern
Theosophical Movement, and to disseminate the teachings of the Esoteric
Philosophy as set
forth by H.P. Blavatsky and her Teachers.
Editor: Boris de Zirkoff.
Subscriptions: $1.50 a year (four issues); single copy 40 cents. Send all
subscriptions, renewals and correspondence to: 615 South Oxford Avenue, Los
Angeles 5, California.
Make checks and money orders payable to "Theosophia."

None of the organized Theosophical Societies, as such, are responsible
for any ideas expressed in this magazine, unless contained in an official
document. The Editor is responsible for unsigned articles only.

*

THOUGHTS
TO REMEMBER ...

It is the teaching of the God-Wisdom that every member of the Solar
System is a living entity, a god imbodied. Such is the sun, such is every
planet, such is every comet. Further more, the solar system itself as
a whole is an entity, precisely as our human body is an entity as a whole,
a unit, yet containing within itself different organs, each such organ
itself being an individual, a unit, a living entity with a consciousness
of its own kind.

“Do you see what this means? That just as our body, an organic
entity itself, is helped in being such by the different organs ... so
the solar system, itself an organic entity, is aided in being such by
all the organic units within it: the sun, the planets, the comets, and
so forth. They all co-operate to produce a greater thing, i.e., the Solar
Kingdom , with the sun as its king or chief ...

“The solar system is a living being, of which the sun is both
the brain and the heart. The different planets are the organs of this
organic entity. Our earth is one. They all work together to produce the
solar system as an organism, or a group of organs. All things contribute
to all things. Nothing happens on this earth, from the waving of
a frond of fern in the wind to the most awful earthquake the world has
ever known, except by such co-operating cosmic agency. All are produced
mainly by the earth, but with the co-operation of the sun and moon, the
planets and comets, for this organic entity moves in synchronous measures
of destiny. All things contribute to all things. The birth of
every baby is produced by the solar system, by the earth, especially
by the mother; yet all things contribute to produce that baby. The stars
do have their effect upon us, most undoubtedly so; and the sun and planets
and comets, because the solar system is an organic living being, and
therefore everything within it anywhere is affected by everything within
it everywhere. Surely this is true; and it is a wonderful picture.” -
G. de Purucker, Studies in Occult Philosophy, pp. 290, 295. [3]

*

AQUARIAN DOORWAYMargaret Chamberlain

In an earlier issue of this publication George Cardinal LeGros wrote
an excellent article entitled “Astrology and 1962.” The ideas
and deductions outlined below are expressed with the hope that they too
may urge those who read them to contemplate deeply the great potential
locked within the stellium of planets that are joining forces in the
sign of Aquarius on February 4 and 5 of 1962.

A total solar eclipse, in the 16th degree of that sign,
occurs at Oh. 10m. a.m. February 5, 1962 , Greenwich Mean Time. (This
date reduces to the number 7.)* (* This corresponds to February 4, 4:10
p.m., Pacific Standard Time.) At the precise time of the eclipse, the
seven sacred planets line up in the following manner: Mars and Saturn
are in orb of a conjunction earlier in the sign, namely in 2 and 3 degrees
respectively, while the Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are all
within orb of a conjunction from 15 to 18 degrees. Mercury is retrograding
in appearance and is inferior, while Venus is superior to the Sun. (It
should be noted that Mars and Saturn are conjunct quite frequently, and
this is not, in itself, an index to world shaking events.)

Neptune is in 13 degrees of Scorpio, and it can be readily observed
that the planets from 15 to 18 degrees of Aquarius have past the exact
square to Neptune prior to the time of the eclipse, with the exception
of Mercury, the planet ruling communications and the conscious link.
On January 16, Mercury will square Neptune while going forward; will
square it in a retrograding motion two days after the eclipse, on February
7, and will square it a third time, once again in a forward motion, on
March 1. Mars in turn is set to square this position of Neptune on February
19, while Saturn will wait until 1963 to complete the aspect.

Uranus will be conjunct the fixed star Regulus at 29
degrees Leo and the following is a list of planets and the dates they
will oppose this position of Uranus and Regulus: Moon - February 5, Venus
- February 14, Sun - February 17, Moon - again on March 5, Mars - March
8, Jupiter - March 12, and Mercury - March 13. Saturn will oppose Uranus
in 1964 when it is in the sign of Pisces and Uranus is in Virgo. The
remaining planet Pluto is in the sector of 9 1/2 degrees of Virgo.

The interpretation of the above astronomical configurations is a mailer
of individual awareness and understanding, as the energies will be expended
in as many varied ways as there are humans to channel them. In the writer’s
opinion; the overall outcome of the 1962 stellium will be a progressive
one.

For a further analysis, let us first consider the large
number of aspects to Neptune within the next year or so. Although the
more rapidly transiting planets will continue periodically to configurate
this bluish-green and misty planet, the slower moving Jupiter and Saturn
will form a square beginning in January of 1962 and ending in [4] the
spring of 1963 respectively. These can be insidious in nature on the
lower planes of expression, and indicate that the world will be subjected
to the most powerful, though subtle, coercion yet launched in this era.
The dark forces will truly be engaged in an all-out effort to win domination
over our globe. Schemes and intrigues that have been put in motion will
be amplified three-fold, while minds attracted to the lower spheres will
give birth to ideas for the perpetration of the most astute crimes.

The mundane affairs of men will be thrown into an even greater state
of confusion, while the circumstances surrounding the chaotic conditions
existing in America will appear to have been the signal to launch an
intense push for subversion. Down to the last individual, it will be
necessary to keep a wary eye and to bide one’s time for making
decisions of major import.

We might now reverse the trend of thought and realize the tremendous
impact the coming 1962 planetary concentration can have on the growth
and spreading of new ideas, and the furtherance of spiritual ideals and
principles the world over.

Considering the important placement it holds, Uranus provides the impetus
to break away and rise above that which, to each consciousness, has become
restrictive and binding. To the degree to which individual consciousness
has awakened, will be the extent of the progress forward and upward.

A great part of this advancement involves the destruction of the outmoded,
the tearing down of old concepts, and the removal of obstructions in
order to build new and better ways of life. While these changes could
manifest in revolts of many types, on the physical, intellectual and
spiritual levels, let us keep ever in mind the cleansing attributes of
the processes of eruption. That which has become decadent must be cast
out and changed in the normal progress of evolution, while those truths
and ideals that originate from the very fountainhead of Universal Divine
Life, must bring the world to a fuller realization of a Universal Brotherhood,
through the aggregate expression of these truths by means of what we
individually become.

Many will find themselves at the crossroad, but lo, the wonderous things
in store for those who affix their allegiance to the powers of light,
who work towards becoming examples, and who contribute to flooding the
hearts of men with the golden love for all mankind!

Everyone of us has the 30 degrees of Aquarius somewhere in his natal
configuration, and it is through the departments of life this area represents
that the energies can best be applied to experiences and harvested for
wisdom. The positive attributes of Aquarius (fixed-air) will be recognized
in those actions that reveal a love for man in all we do, fixity upon
a course that elevates the consciousness, serenity in thought, and an
unswerving devotion to the highest principles.

*

“Let us never forget that mighty and strong minds are behind
the spiritual government of our world, indeed of our globe; and that
sooner or later karman adjusts all things to its majestic purposes, and
in the spirit of universal brotherhood, peace on earth, and good will
to all men.” - -G. de Purucker.

*

A DATE TO REMEMBERBoris de Zirkoff

Of special significance to the student of the Esoteric Philosophy is
the fact that on February 4th and 5th, 1962, all the Seven Sacred Planets
are simultaneously in the sign of Aquarius, somewhat prior to, and at
the actual time of, a Total Solar Eclipse. It is an extremely rare occurrence,
the frequency of which is not easily determined.

According to the teachings of the Ancient Wisdom which have come down
to us from immemorial antiquity, the Seven Sacred Planets - Sun, Moon,
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - have a special mystical relation
to our Earth, which may be considered as their “ward” or “nursling.” Every
one of these seven planets - each one of them being the fourth-plane
globe of its own sevenfold planetary chain-provides its own characteristic
stream of life-atoms or energies to the building of our own earth planetary
chain. From each one of them comes to our earth a special e1ectro-magnetic
vital flow fraught with living entities. This also means that man himself
has within his own constitution essences and substances derived from
the seven sacred planets, as man is an integral and inseparable part
of the system in which he evolves and grows.

In considering this trend of thought, it should be understood that
the influences spoken of are multifarious and varied in nature. While
it would be perfectly correct to think of them as being related to the
magnetic energies of the visible globes, and even what the astronomer
would call gravitational energies, the deeper meaning is to be found
in the mutual inter-relation of the Hierarchies of living beings inhabiting
the various planetary chains on the several planes of their structure.
Hence, the influences which come from the seven sacred planets originate
not only on their respective physical globes, but on higher globes of
their inner structure as well.

While man’s Reincarnating Ego is a denizen of the earth chain
of globes, his Spiritual Monad or Ego has its range and function of consciousness
over the entire Solar System, but is nevertheless particularly connected
with the seven “Houses of Life” which we call the seven sacred
planets.

It should also be remembered that of these seven planets the Moon and
the Sun stand merely as substitutes for two secret planets, closely related
to, but not identical with, them, and with which they have very close
spiritual and psychological relations.

The close proximity of celestial bodies in line of sight brings
about a specially intense blending of their respective magnetisms which
then impinge collectively upon our earth, bringing about in due course
of time vast and enduring effects, physical, psychological and spiritual.
Our knowledge of these matters is too insignificant as yet to permit
us to speculate upon the then prevailing position of the higher globes
of the respective planets which, no doubt, must play their own role in
the constantly changing panorama of the heavens.

When the close proximity of two or more of the planetary bodies in
line [6] of sight becomes an actual occultation of one by the
other, we have an eclipse, such as the total eclipse of the sun by the
moon on Feb. 4-5 (the calendar date differing from one part of the earth
to another). Solar and lunar eclipses have always been considered by
students of the occult lore throughout the ages as being of special significance,
and the reason for this lies in the profound knowledge of the Mystery-Schools
of old wherein the occult interplay of forces connected with various
natural phenomena was known. That knowledge is accessible even today
for those who are ready and well qualified to receive it.

Eclipses of the sun and moon are intimately connected with the Circulations
of the Cosmos, the movement to and fro of electro-magnetic energies as
between the various planetary bodies, and are especially related to the
transference of various types of life-energies from one celestial body
to another. They also stand in direct relationship to Initiations.

Some time in the future - perhaps sooner than we may think - Science
will reach a point where such abstract generalizations as “magnetic
pulls,” “gravitational energies,” and “electro-magnetic
attractions,” will have become insufficient as descriptive terms
for various natural phenomena. It will then move closer to the actual
facts of nature, and will begin to interpret these mutual relations between
celestial bodies in terms of living entities, rivers of lives, passing
at stated times from one plane to another, or from one dwelling to another
on the same plane of life. The Solar System then will have become in
the understanding of these scientists of the future the Living Being
which it actually is, and the various celestial bodies will be viewed
as organs in the structural complex of a Cosmic Entity.

Eclipses of both sun and moon produce enormous psycho-magnetic movements
on the earth, rapid transfers of living beings from one part to another
in the intricate web of the outer and the inner worlds, incoming and
outgoing tides of life in which all men are more or less involved, as
everything throughout the cosmic structure is indissolubly bound with
everything else. While the magnetic phenomena accompanying an eclipse
of the sun extend far beyond the actual path of the shadow along the
surface of the earth, nevertheless the more direct effect is produced
along that path - a fact which even present-day astrology is aware of,
at least from one particular viewpoint.

The remarkable nature of the gathering of planets in
Aquarius on Feb. 4th and 5th is further underlined by the fact that within
these two days there occur no less than ten conjunctions as between the
various planets posited in this sign of the Zodiac. At least one of them
is a direct occultation (or eclipsing), namely of Jupiter by the transiting
Moon.

For a good many years in the past, and currently, a great deal has
been said and written - often most foolishly - about the Aquarian Age.
It is of course perfectly true that the influence of the Zodiacal Sign
of Aquarius, which means the influence of the spiritual Hierarchies connected
with that Sign, is unmistakably asserting itself in the present history
of mankind. This influence overlaps - as all influences do - the influence
of the Sign of Pisces. [7] While the latter wanes, the former
increases through the years and the centuries. But unless specific
mathematical and occult knowledge can be had regarding the esoteric
significance of so-called “signs” and their inter-related
motions, if any, no actual date, not even an approximate one, can be
stated as to just exactly when the so-called Aquarian Age begins.
A century or so ago, and two or three centuries into the future, are
approximate limits or boundaries for the period when this influence will
become firmly established, and prevail thereafter for its appointed span.

There is every reason to believe, however, that the remarkable gathering
of all the Seven Sacred Planets in the Sign of Aquarius at the time of
a total eclipse of the Sun, will release powerful Aquarian magnetic forces
- which means streams of living entities impelled by their own Karmic
drive - who or which will produce in due course of time their inevitable
effect upon mankind as a whole, an effect which in the long run will
be auspicious, broadening, elevating, and enduring.

*

RENASCENCE

When the Night is gone, and the Deva Dawn
Is spreading her plumes of gold,
And the Morning Star on her throne afar
Sings out to the Gods of old;

When the world is bright with Compassion’s Light,
And the fires of Mara give
But a dying spark in the fading dark,
Then - only the Truth will live;

And a Song will rise in the happy skies
When the joy-enchanted Spring
Returns to birth on a brighter earth,
And the God in man is King.
- G. Cardinal LeGros.

*

Written over the fireplace of the Hind’s Head Hotel in Bray-on-Thames,
near London, are these words, whose author is not known:
FEAR KNOCKED AT THE DOOR FAITH ANSWERRED.
NO ONE WAS THERE. [8]

*

OCCULT ARTSWilliam Quan Judge

[Concluded from the Fall, 1961, issue.]

How, then, is this precipitation done, and what is the process? This
question brings up the whole of the philosophy offered in the Secret
Doctrine. For if the postulate of the metaphysical character of the Cosmos
is denied, if the supreme power of the disciplined mind is not admitted,
if the actual existence of an inner and real world is negatived, if the
necessity and power of the image-making faculty are disallowed, then
such precipitation is an impossibility, always was, and always will be.
Power over mind, matter, space, and time depends on several things and
positions. Needed for this are: Imagination raised to its highest limit,
desire combined with will that wavers not, and a knowledge of the occult
chemistry of Nature. All must be present or there will be no result.

Imagination is the power to make in the ether an image. This faculty
is limited by any want of the training of mind and increased by good
mental development. In ordinary persons imagination is only a vain and
fleeting fancy which makes but a small impression comparatively in the
ether. This power, when well-trained, makes a matrix in ether wherein
each line, word, letter, sentence, color, or other mark is firmly and
definitely made. Will, well-trained, must then be used to draw from the
ether the matter to be deposited, and then according to the laws of such
an operation, the depositing matter collects in masses within the limits
of the matrix and becomes from its accumulation visible on the surface
selected. The will, still at work, has then to out off the mass of matter
from its attraction to that from whence it came. This is the whole operation,
and who then is the wiser? Those learned in the schools laugh, and well
they may, for there is not in science anything to correspond, and many
of the positions laid down are contrary to several received opinions.
But in Nature there are vast numbers of natural effects produced by ways
wholly unknown to science, and Nature does not mind the laughter, nor
should any disciple.

But how is it possible to inject such a precipitation into a closed
letter?

The ether is all-pervading, and the envelope or any other material
bar is no bar to it. In it is carried the matter to be deposited, and
as the whole operation is done on the other side of visible nature up
to the actual appearance of the deposit, physical obstructions do not
make the slightest difference.

It is necessary to return for a moment to the case of precipitations
through mediums. Here the matrix needs no trained imagination to make
it nor trained will to hold it. In the astral light the impressions are
out and remain immovable; these are used by the elementals and other
forces at work, and no disturbing will of sitter being able to interfere
- simply from blind ignorance - there is no disturbance of the automatic
unconscious work. In the sitter’s aura are thousands of impressions
which remain unmoved because all attention has been long ago withdrawn.
And the older or simpler they are the more firmly [9] do they
exist. These constitute also a matrix through which the nature spirits
work.

I can properly finish this with the incident mentioned at the beginning.
It was with H.P.B. I was sitting in her room beside her, the distance
between us being some four feet. In my hand I held a book she never had
had in her possession and that I had just taken from the mail. It was
clear of all marks, its title page was fresh and clean; no one had touched
it since it left the book-seller. I examined its pages and began to read.
In about five minutes a very powerful current of what felt like electricity
ran up and down my side on the skin, and I looked up at her. She was
looking at me and said “What do you read?” I had forgotten
the title, as it was one I had never seen before, and so I turned back
to the title page. There at the top on the margin where it had not been
before was a sentence of two lines of writing in ink, and the ink was
wet, and the writing was that of H.P.B. who sat before me. She had not
touched the book, but by her knowledge of occult law, occult chemistry,
and occult will, she had projected out of the ink-bottle before her the
ink to make the sentence, and of course it was in her own handwriting,
as that was the easiest way to do it. Hence my own physical system was
used to do the work, and the instant of its doing was when I felt the
shock on the skin. This is to be explained in the way I have outlined,
or it is to be all brushed aside as a lie or as a delusion of mine. But
those last I can not accept, for I know to the contrary, and further
I know that the advice, for such it was, in that sentence was good. I
followed it, and the result was good. Several other times also have I
seen her precipitate on different surfaces, and she always said it was
no proof of anything whatever save the power to do the thing, admitting
that black and white magicians could do the same thing, and saying that
the only safety for anyone in the range of such forces was to be pure
in motive, in thought, and in act.

III

Just as we have seen that precipitation is known to material science
in electroplating and other arts, so also is it true that in most departments
of applied science disintegration is understood, and that here and there
reintegration of such substances as diamonds has been successfully accomplished.
But these are all by mechanical or chemical processes. The question here
is, whether - as in respect to precipitation - the occult powers of man
and nature can bring about the results. Has anyone ever reduced a solid
object to impalpable powder and then at a distant place restored the
object to its former state? And, if so, how is it done? As to the first,
I can only say that I have seen this done, and that many testimonies
have been offered by others at various times for the same thing. In the
records of Spiritualism there are a great many witnesses to this effect,
and accepting all cases in that field which are free from fraud the same
remarks as were made about precipitation apply. With mediums it is unconsciously
done; the laws governing the entire thing are unexplained by the medium
or the alleged spirits; the whole matter is involved in obscurity so
far as that cult is concerned, and certainly the returning spooks will
give [10] no answer until they find it in the brain of some living
person. But the fact remains that among powerful physical mediums the
operation has been performed by some unknown force acting under hidden
guidance, itself as obscure.

This feat is not the same as apportation, the carrying or projecting
of an object through space, whether it be a human form or any other thing.
Buddhist and Hindu stories alike teem with such apportations; it is alleged
of Apollonius the Greek, of Tyana; Christian saints are said to have
been levitated and carried. In the Buddhist stories many of the immediate
disciples of Buddha, both during his life and after his death, are said
to have flown through the air from place to place; and in the history
of Rama, same ascetics and Hanuman the monkey god are credited with having
so levitated themselves.

So many metals and minerals may be volatilized that we may take it
as a general rule that all - until an exception is met with - are volatile
under the proper conditions. Gold is slow in this respect, some observers
having kept it heated for two months with no loss of weight, and others
found a small loss after exposing it to violent heat; a charge of electricity
will dissipate it. Silver volatilizes at red heat, and iron can also
be similarly affected. But when we come to wood or softer vegetable matter,
the separation of its atoms from each other is more easily accomplished.
The process of disintegrating by the use of occult forces and powers
is akin to what we can do on the material plane. The result is the same,
however the means employed may vary; that is, the molecules are pressed
apart from each other and kept so. If by mechanical, chemical, and electrical
processes man can bring about this result, there is no reason, save in
an asserted unproved denial, why it may not be done by the use of the
mind and will. Rarity or unusualness proves nothing; when the telegraph
was new its rarity proved nothing against its actuality; and it is every
day becoming more the fashion to admit than it is to deny the possibility
of anything in the realm opened up by our knowledge of electricity, while
the probability is left merely to suspended judgment.

Passing from material science to the medical researches into hypnotism,
we find there the stepping-stone between the purely mechanical physical
processes and the higher subtler realm of the mind, the will, and the
imagination. Here we see that the powerful forces wielded by the mind
are able to bring about effects on bone, flesh, blood, and skin equal
in measure to many processes of disintegration or volatilization. But
in every-day life we have similar suggestive facts. In the blush and
the cold chill which comes instantaneously over the whole frame, spreading
in a second from the mental source, are effects upon matter made directly
from mind. Even a recollection of an event can easily bring on this physical
effect. In hypnotic experiments the skin, blood, and serum may be altered
so as to bring out all the marks and changes of a burn or abrasion. In
these cases the mind influenced by another mind makes an image through
which the forces act to cause the changes. It is possible because, as
so often asserted by the ancient sages, the Universe is really Will and
Idea, or, as so well put in a letter from one of the Adepts, “the
machinery of the cosmos is not only occult, it is ideal: and the higher
metaphysics must [11] be understood if one is to escape from the
illusions under which men labor and which will continually lead them
into the adoption of false systems respecting life and nature in consequence
of the great ‘collective hallucination’ in which modern scientific
persons glory so much, but which they do not call by that name.” *
(* From an unpublished letter.)

So much, then, being briefly premised, it is said by the schools of
occultism, known not only since the rise of the Theosophical movement
but followed for ages in the East and continued down to the present day
in India - that the trained man by the use of his will, mind, and imagination
can disintegrate an object, send it along currents definitely existing
in space, transport the mass of atoms to a distant place, passing them
through certain obstacles, and reintegrate the object at the given distant
spot exactly with the same visibility, limits, and appearance as it had
when first taken up for transport. But this has its limitations. It cannot
ordinarily be done with a human living body. That would require such
an expenditure of force and so interfere with the rights of life that
it may be excluded altogether. Size and resistance of obstacle have also
to do with success or failure. Omnipotence of a sort that may transcend
law is not admitted in Occultism; that the Adepts pointed out when they
wrote that if they could at one stroke burn the world into an arcadia
for lofty souls they would do so, but the world can only be conquered
step by step and under the rule of law. It is the same in all operations
that copy nature either chemically or mechanically. Hence it is said
in these schools that “there are failures in occult art as well
as among men.” Such failures come from an inability to cope with
limiting conditions.

We can analyze the phenomenon of disintegration and transport of mass
of matter and reintegration in this way: There is the operator who must
know how to use his will, mind, and imagination. Next is the object to
be dealt with. Then there is the resisting obstacle through which it
may have to pass; and the air, ether, and astral light through which
it travels. Lastly is the question whether or not there is the force
called cohesion, by means of which masses of matter are held together
within limits of form.

If it be said that the force known as gravity holds masses of matter
together, we are reduced to accepting a more mysterious explanation for
a common thing than the three persons in one God. But cohesion without
any other postulate amounts merely to saying that masses of matter cohere
because they cohere. Occultism, in common with the Vedantic philosophy,
says that there is a force of cohesion which has its roots and power
in the spirit and in the ideal form; and attraction and repulsion operate
from the same base also. Further, that school holds gravitation to be
but an exhibition of the action of these two - attraction and repulsion.
Living masses such as vegetables, animals, and men deal with matter in
another state from that which is in minerals, and exhibit the quicker
action of disintegrating forces; while minerals go to pieces very slowly.
Both kinds are compelled in time to fall apart as masses in [12] consequence
of the action of evolutionary law when they are left altogether to themselves;
that is, the whole quantity of matter of and belonging to the globe is
continually subject to the hidden forces which are moulding it for higher
uses and turning it, however slowly, into a higher class of matter. The
normal rate is what we see, but this normal rate may be altered, and
that it can be altered by intelligent mind and will is the fact This
alteration of rate is seen in the forcing processes used for plants by
which they are made to grow much faster than is usual under common conditions.
In the same way in masses of matter which will surely go to pieces in
the course of time, long or short, the molecules may be pushed apart
before their time and held so by the trained will. That is, the force
of repulsion can be opposed to natural attraction so as to drive the
molecules apart and hold them thus away from each other. When the repulsion
is slackened, the molecules rush together again to assume their former
appearance. In this case the shape is not altered, but the largely diffused
body of molecules retains its shape though invisible to the eye, and
upon appearing to sight again it simply condenses itself into the smaller
original limits, thus becoming dense enough to be once more seen and
touched.

When a small object is thus disintegrated by occult means it can be
passed through other objects. Or if it is to be transported without disintegration,
then any dense intervening obstacle is disintegrated for a sufficient
space to allow it to pass. That the latter is one of the feats of fakirs,
yogis, and certain mediums can be hardly a matter of doubt except for
those who deny the occult character of the cosmos. Alleged spirits in
respect to this have said, “We make the intervening obstacle fluid
or diffused, or do the same thing for the object transported,” and
for once they seem to be right. A gentleman of high character and ability
in the northwest told me that one day a man unknown in his village came
to the door, and exhibiting some rings of metal made one pass through
the other, one of the rings seeming to melt away at the point of contact.
H. P. Blavatsky has narrated to me many such cases, and I have seen her
do the same thing. As, for instance, she has taken in my sight a small
object such as a ring, and laying it on the table caused it to appear
without her touching it inside of a closed drawer near by. Now in that
instance either she disintegrated it and caused it to pass into the drawer,
or disintegrated the drawer for a sufficient space, or she hypnotized
me with all my senses on the alert, pulling the object into the drawer
while I was asleep and without my perceiving any sort of change whatever
in my consciousness. The latter I cannot accept, but if it be held as
true, then it was more wonderful than the other feat. The circumstances
and motive were such as to exclude the hypnotizing theory; it was done
to show me that such a phenomenon was possible and to give me a clue
to the operation, and also to explain to me how the strange things of
spiritualism might be done and, indeed, must be done under the laws of
man’s mind and nature.

Next we have the intelligent part of the matter to look at. Here the
inner senses have to act under the guidance of a mind free from the illusions
of matter, able to see into the occult cosmos behind the veil of objectivity.
The [13] will acts with immense force, exerting the powers both
of attraction and repulsion as desired; knowledge of occult chemistry
comes into use; the currents in the astral light or ether have to be
known, as also how to make new currents. Those who have seen into the
astral light and looked at the currents moving to and fro will understand
this, others will either doubt, deny, or suspend judgment. The imagination
as in the case of precipitation, is of prime importance; for in these
things imagination is the sight and the hand of the mind and the will,
without which the latter can accomplish nothing, just as the will and
brain of a man whose arms are cut off can do nothing unless others aid
him. But mind, will, and imagination do not re-construct the disintegrated
object, for as soon as the dispersing force is slackened from its hold
on the mass of molecules, the imagination having held the image of the
object, the atoms obediently and automatically rearrange themselves as
before.

All this may seem fanciful, but there are those who know of their own
knowledge that it is all according to fact. And it is doubtless true
that in no long time modern science will begin, as it is even now slowly
starting, to admit all these things by admitting in full the ideal nature
of the cosmos, thus removing at once the materialistic notions of man
and nature which mostly prevail at the present day.

[Against the background of this comprehensive essay and the occult
facts outlined in it, the sad events of 1894-95 in the history of the
Theosophical Society appear to be incredible, when viewed in retrospect
from the present day. It is hard to believe that any leading members
of the Movement, with a fund of Theosophical information at hand, could
have accused William Quan Judge (of all the people!) of “forging” letters
from the Masters, or of giving them a “misleading material form,” an
expression which was intended at the time to convey the idea that he
deliberately wrote certain messages from the Adept-Brothers forging their
own well-known scripts. But such is the nature of over-heated human emotions
which, when their selfish tendencies are stirred up, abdicate reason,
common sense and factual evidence in almost any issue at stake, and contribute
to general confusion and wide-spread injustice. Time, however, heals
many wounds and clarifies many problems, bringing perspective to our
vision of events. In the meantime, let us be sure we learn the needed
lessons by calm consideration of the issues involved in past history,
so as to avoid making similar errors in the present or the future. -
Editor, Theosophia.]

*

“What is needed today is a global Lincoln, a man of depth and
compassion, a man of sorrows and suffering, a man who will be followed
because the living universal in him appeals to the craving universal
in all men.” - Dr. Charles Malik, Representative from the Lebanon
at U.N. [14]

*

REINCARNATION TODAY

Of all the teachings of Theosophy, the one concerning Reincarnation
is the most readily accepted today by a large number of people in all
walks of life. Not many years ago, it was considered to be a rather outlandish
idea which odd people calling themselves Theosophists were trying to
foist upon the public. At present, it is fast becoming a view of life
easily acceptable and interesting to speculate about, if nothing else;
in many cases, however, it is accepted as a serious philosophy of life
with important ethical implications. The idea of Reincarnation has now
entered the field of novels, movies, popular songs, newspaper articles,
cartoons and radio scripts. It is being freely discussed by scientists,
church leaders, and philosophers, and very rarely ridiculed.

This is quite a fundamental change from what the situation was in the
days when the modern Theosophical Movement was inaugurated. It is mainly
due, of course, to the persistent work of those engaged in Theosophical
activities, and to the fact that a great many people in incarnation today
have contacted those ideas in former lives and are therefore more receptive
to them now.

For the sake of those who are always asking how Reincarnation
can be proved, it should be stated that such ideas do not belong to the
category which can be demonstrated as a theorem of Euclid. Logic itself,
even though useful, is insufficient for this purpose; it must be sustained
by an intuitive perception of spiritual realities, a careful examination
of existing evidence in favor of the idea itself, a weighing of facts
for and against the acceptance of this concept, and a study of collateral
teachings, such as Cause and Effect or Karman, the Universality of Life,
the cyclic nature of all material and energic manifestations, and the
importance of the idea of Reincarnation from the purely Ethical standpoint.

To those who are looking for further evidence to convince
themselves of the idea of Reincarnation, we wish to recommend a newly-published
work entitled Reincarnation: An East-West Anthology. It has been
compiled and Edited by Joseph Head and S. L. Cranston, and is available
(for $6.50.) from the Staniweather Company, 255 Seventh Ave., New York
1, N.Y.

This work is similar to the “old timer” compiled by E.
D. Walker way back in H. P. Blavatsky’s own days and published
with a similar title. It is a most valuable compilation of quotations
from hundreds of eminent Western and Oriental authors, philosophers,
scientists, theologians, poets and statesmen who accepted, or accept
now, the idea of Reincarnation. The work includes the famous “Anathemas
against Origen” and shows how and when Reincarnation became “the
lost chord” of Christianity. It is most significant that the Library
Journal for December, 1961, would review this work and speak of it
as “an essential item for all large religious collections and useful
in a library of any size. It should be invaluable to clergymen and to
professional writers and speakers.” And so it is! [15]

*

A TIME FOR REFLECTIONDara Eklund

“These are the times that try men’s souls” is a statement
probably more true now than in the early revolutionary days. Man is not
only bound up in a reef of tensions but seems intent upon creating more
every day. For indeed, he has not simplified his life through the ease
of tasks around him. Like the machines of his creation, he has so intensified
the pace of living that all gentleness, all patience for thought, has
somehow been lost in the shuffle. Not only is his soul “tried” but
it is “tired.” It is tired of the confusion in which he exhausts
his energy. It is tired because it is given no sweet respite or gentle
airs of spirit in which to renew itself.

What we fail to realize is that if the soul is to meet the trials of
its own making, there must be a time for retreat, the silence for reflection,
the quiet before the storm. This is a mighty force in beginnings.

Meditation is to the soul what a bath is to the body. This is especially
true when we consider that the soul is to the spirit what the material
side of life is to the soul. It is a vehicle - if we wish to delve
deeper than the ordinary conception of the term. And being such a vortex
of activity - and providing such a link with man’s finer nature
- it requires rest and rejuvenation just as the body does.

When the body is bathed the impurities are drawn away into the surrounding
water. When the soul is bathed the turbulence in the atmosphere surrounding
the spiritual man is allowed to settle. Higher points of contact are
renewed and the dross of impure emotion, colored by the darting thinking
principle, is likewise drawn away. At least its power to disturb the
soul is stilled, just as a mirror cannot reflect the objects in a room
unless there is light. The Soul may then be used as that shining vehicle
of the Spirit that it should be.

This process we have called “reflection.” It may lead in
time to a still higher state of “meditation.” All through
the ages wise men have encouraged their students to use meditation as
a means to truth.

Adopting the renunciation-through-action philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita,
so appealing to Western Man, we have forgotten that there is an altar
at which our devotions are unveiled. The contact has to be both ways.
Krishna was with Arjuna every step of the way. Yet we cannot know the
higher guiding Presence unless a portion of our struggle is to seek it
within. This is difficult amidst the heat of battle. Let us then put
away our heavy armour for some moments in our life, and take time for
reflection.

*

“Keep out of any vortex. If not sure, just stand
aside and wait for evidence.” - William Q. Judge. [16]

*

H. P. BLAVATSKY
Collected Writings

With the passing of time, the writings of H. P. Blavatsky, the chief
Founder of the modern Theosophical Movement, increase in importance and
value. Together with the Letters from the Adept-Brothers, they are the
unshakable foundation for all genuine occult work today and in future
centuries. The astounding developments in modern science confirm many
of the teachings outlined by H. P. Blavatsky. Her writings contain a
great number of prophetic statements still to be substantiated by further
scientific research.
Every student in the Theosophical Movement, irrespective of affiliation,
should be conversant with the contents of H. P. Blavatsky’s writings,
and every Lodge or Group within the organized Societies should be in
possession of them as source material.
The supply of the Volumes available now is limited. We urge everyone to secure
his copies at an early opportunity. They will be richly repaid for the effort
by the wealth of information and teaching contained in these Volumes.

Volume IX is in production; Vols. X and XI ready in MSS; further Volumes
to appear from time to time. It is also planned to reprint in due time
Volumes I, II, III and IV, which have been out of print for many years.
These second editions will be revised and considerably augmented.
Order from: “THEOSOPHIA”, 551 South Oxford Avenue, Los Angeles
5, California, U.S.A. (Make checks or money-orders payable to “Theosophia”.)

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